Theatre Week Kickoff Party To Feature 45+ Theatre Organizations, Children's Programming

The 2019 Theatre Week Kickoff Party celebrates the launch of the 2019-2020 theatre season and the start of Theatre Week in the Washington region. The event will take place on Saturday, September 7, 11am-4pm at Arena Stage Mead Center for American Theater. It is a free event and tickets are available through the TodayTix app and website.

The Kickoff Party will begin with a special panel conversation - The Future of Washington Theatre. From 11am-12pm, Peter Marks, Washington Post Theater Critic, will speak to three new artistic directors - Maria Goyanes of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Raymond Caldwell of Theater Alliance, and Chil Kong of Adventure Theatre MTC - about stepping into their roles at the helm of established Washington theatres, their vision for moving these institutions forward, and engaging their communities. Coffee and a light breakfast will be available before the conversation.

The panel will be followed by a slate of performances from 12:30-4pm by DC's favorite theatre artists, including - Felicia Curry, Hasani Allen, Erin Driscoll, Rayanne Gonzales, Stephen Gregory Smith, Wood Van Meter, Monique Midgette, Matt Conner, Greg Watkins, Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi, Casey Kaleba, The American Pops Orchestra, and performers from Synetic Theater, Monumental Theatre, and Creative Cauldron. See schedule below for performance times.

There will be special programming for children ages 3-12 from 12-4pm, featuring classes and workshops from Adventure Theatre MTC, Levine Music Theatre, The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts, and more.

Free food and drinks will be provided by our hospitality partners: DC Brau, Anxo Cider & Pinxtos, Tony & Joe's Seafood, Honest Tea, and Turkish Coffee Lady.

Participating organizations include: 1st Stage, 4615 Theatre Company, Adventure Theatre MTC, Ally Theatre Company, American Pops, Annapolis Shakespeare Company, Arena Stage, Beltway Barks, Best Medicine Rep, Brave Spirits Theatre, Constellation Theatre Company, Creative Cauldron, DC Metro Theatre Arts, DC Theatre Scene, Flying V, Folger Theatre, Ford's Theatre, GALA Hispanic Theatre, Georgetown University Theater & Performance Studies Program, Levine Music Theatre, Monumental Theatre Company, Mosaic Theater Company of DC, National Theatre, Nu Sass Productions, Peter's Alley Theatre Productions, Pointless Theatre, Prologue Theatre, Rep Stage, Rorschach Theatre, Round House Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Solas Nua, Studio Theatre, Synetic Theater, The Actors' Center, The Edge of the Universe Players 2, The Essential Theatre, The In Series, The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, The Theatre Lab Inc, The Welders, Theater Alliance, Theater J, Theatre Prometheus, TodayTix, Washington City Paper, Washington Stage Guild, We Happy Few, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and Young Playwrights' Theatre.

Performance Room Schedule
12:30pm - Felicia Curry, a Helen Hayes Award recipient currently appearing in Mosaic Theater Company of DC's Fabulation Or, The Re-Education of Undine, performs songs from her past and present. She will next be seen as Dr. Martha Livingstone in Factory 449's Agnes of God this October.

12:45 - Wood Van Meter, a Helen Hayes Award nominee for his work as Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Toby's Dinner Theatre, most recently seen at NextStop Theatre Company in Singin' in the Rain, performs musical theatre selections.

1:00 - Monique Midgette, a three-time Helen Hayes Award nominee, frequent Broadway performer, and currently director of Beehive at NextStop Theatre Company, performs songs from her extensive repertoire of Broadway and classic musical theatre.

1:15 - CREATIVE CAULDRON, a Helen Hayes Award nominated theatre company specializing in world premiere musicals, led by Helen Hayes Award recipient Stephen Gregory Smith and Helen Hayes Award nominee Matt Conor, performs songs from past and upcoming productions.

1:30 - THE AMERICAN POPS ORCHESTRA, an innovative group of artists dedicated to reinvigorating the vast, rich repertoire of American music, performs selections from their upcoming September concert, Coat of Many Colors: The Music of Dolly Parton.

1:45 - Rayanne Gonzales, a Helen Hayes Award recipient most recently seen in Olney Theatre Center's Matilda, performs musical-based selections. She will next be seen as The Ghost of Christmas Present in Ford's Theatre's annual holiday production of A Christmas Carol.

2:00 - Casey Kaleba, a Helen Hayes Award nominated fight director specializing in stage combat training and choreography for professional theatres, academic productions, and educational programs, leads a 30 minute stage combat & fight choreography demonstration for beginners of all ages.

2:30 - Greg Watkins, a singer, pianist, musical director, composer and arranger, recently seen in Arena Stage's a cappella musical, Jubilee, and currently appearing as Professor Callahan in Keegan Theatre's Legally Blonde, performs songs from a Gospel-inspired repertoire.

2:45 - SYNETIC THEATRE, a movement-based theatre company that has received 34 Helen Hayes Awards and a staggering 134 nominations, performs scenes from their remount of The Tempest, another in the company's growing repertoire of wordless Shakespeare productions.

3:00 - LADY Dane Figueroa Edidi, a Helen Hayes Award nominated choreographer, playwright, performer, and one of the leading advocates for trans and nonbinary artists, performs a scene from her self-penned Klytmnestra: An Epic Slam Poem.

3:15 - Hasani Allen, a Helen Hayes Award recipient for his work as The Scarecrow in The Wiz and most recently seen as The Prince in Into The Woods, both at Ford's Theatre, performs songs from past and upcoming shows.

3:30 - Erin Driscoll, a Helen Hayes Award recipient and Signature Theatre favorite, most recently seen as Cinderella in Ford's Theatre's Into the Woods, performs songs from her extensive repertoire of musical theater classics.

3:45 - MONUMENTAL THEATRE COMPANY, recipient of the John Aniello Award, the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company, will perform, "The Smartphone Hour" from their recent hit production of Be More Chill and "Make a Move" from the upcoming new musical, Montgomery.

About Theatre Week
Theatre Week 2019, a three week celebration, offers $15 and $35 tickets to over 25 productions, a free Kickoff Party, and other free special events. Tickets are available through the TodayTix platform.

This celebration of Washington's theatre scene - unquestionably one of the best in the country, with a vast array of theatres offering quality performances - includes musicals, dramas, comedies, and theatre for young audiences. Details are available at TheatreWeek.org, and tickets are available for purchase through the TodayTix app and website.

Theatre Week is funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

theatreWashington's mission is to strengthen, represent, and support all segments of Washington's professional theatre community, including theatre companies, artists, staff, and diverse audiences of all ages.

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